Cooking and reading my waythrough the Apocalypse

emergency

For most of us who drink it, coffee is one of those got-to-have-it necessities. Even if you don’t personally drink coffee, there is no denying the ubiquitousness of its appeal.

In the midst of an apocalypse, coffee (or the lack thereof) would present its own unique problem. In the United States, unless you live in Hawaii, you certainly can’t grow it. Most of the coffee we drink comes from South America. In the 1950s sci-fi classic, Alas, Babylon, the characters quickly run out of coffee. Most modern preppers see coffee as an essential part of their food storage plan, both for consumption and for trade.

These days, most of us rely on our Keurig or Mr. Coffee coffee makers. many of these require special K cups, filters, and of course, electricity. Even if were not in the midst of the zombie apocalypse, there are all kinds of power outages and other situations where we might need an alternate solution. I once had a coffee pot break when it was too late at night to go out for a new one for the next morning. So how do we make coffee in a scenario where those tools are not available to us?

One: Include a non-electric method of making coffee in your emergency preps. We used to have frequent power outages in our area. I always kept several stovetop coffee pots on hand. I have used everything from old-fashioned metal percolators to glass ones to Granite Ware pots designed for camping. They all work. Even a French press will do during power outage.

Three: Add instant coffee to the food preps. While it may not taste as good as the real thing, having instant coffee on hand can be a lifesaver, especially in situations where your ability to heat water to high temperatures is limited.

Four: Don’t forget the extras! Nondairy creamer, sugar, and sweetener make a big difference if you don’t drink your coffee black. The same goes for tea and cocoa.